Snap News:News in May 2017!

This months newsletter kindly sponsored by Hyphen Law who we had the pleasure of meeting at the BABICM, CMSUK, VRA Together Conference.

Hyphen Law: We are a law firm who help manage the affairs of people whose lives have been affected by a brain injury or a similar impairment. Our aim is to support our clients and the people who are responsible for them. www.hyphenlaw.co.uk

We've had a busy month attending great conferences and delivering talks - but not as busy as the Melville-Ross' climbing Pen Y Fan!

Jim from Snap's Talk at Jane James & Associates

Costing Specialist Care

On 17th May, Jim and Sally from Snap were delighted to be invited to attend Jane James & Associates Expert Witness annual meeting.

Jim delivered a speech on costing for specialist care that went down well with the expert witnesses who have the rather daunting task of costing for care for litigation cases. Using case studies, Jim explained the many different roles so experts could see which may be best suited for their client - and discussed the importance of costing for a viable job.

Just how daunting a task, was highlighted in an enlightening speech byGerard McDermott QC who discussed the key points of what makes a good expert witness report and just how important these reports are.

We were also privileged to hear a talk by Stephen Ruffle from Rewalk and saw an amazing demonstration from Grace who has a spinal injury using the Rewalk Exoskeleton.

The Exoskeleton is not intended as an alternative to a wheelchair, but is used by clients for specific situation. An example we heard was a mother who uses it once a week to walk her daughter to school. It takes her 40 minutes instead of 10 minutes in her wheelchair, but the psychological boost it gives her is immense. Take a look at the video below to see how the Exoskeleton works.

It was great to meet Jane James and her team of associates who made us extremely welcome. It was very interesting for us to hear more about the great work they do.

Nannytax | Staff Tax- Regular Snap News feature coming soon!

Whether you're a first time employer or have been employing people for years, with ever-changing employment law and legislation, it can still be quite a daunting task for anyone!

Snap have been working with Nannytax (and then Enable / Staff Tax) since we began in 2001 and they have provided many useful articles for our newsletter over the years, We are delighted that they will again be writing a regular feature for Snap News and here are the up and coming topics to look out for:

Twinvincibles - Challenge #2 - Done!

Snap have been following the amazing fundraising initiatives of Thomas, Alice and their family and friends (also known as The Twinvincibles!), as they say Thank You and raise much needed funds for Evelina London Hospital.
In his own words, James Melville-Ross gives us an update on Challenge #2, when the whole family – wheelchairs and all – climbed Pen Y Fan, Southern Britain’s highest mountain, supported by family and friends:

"When you first hear that your kids are going to be severely disabled, your mind is only filled with all the things you think they will never be able to do. I have to say that one of my first thoughts, all those years ago, was that I would never climb a mountain with the twins. Then slowly you start to realise that these things still have to be done, it’s just going to have to be done differently. On Sunday 40 of our friends and family were left wondering why my original thought couldn’t have been left where it was and why the hell they were being forced into schlepping up a mountain pulling a bloody wheelchair.
We used a highly sophisticated (ie. made up on the spot) rope system to share the load and pulled the twins up to the summit in pretty good time. It was heavy going. As we arrived at the peak, we were greeted by spontaneous cheers and applause from other climbers, who obviously thought we were deranged and needed some encouragement. At the top, the collected kids released Evelina balloons into the sky to remember all of the other children cared for at the Evelina, those who have made it and some who haven’t. The wind being little more than a gentle breeze, the balloons sort of rolled gently down the hillside in a slightly crap fashion, but the thought was there.

The descent was no less pedestrian as we picked our way carefully down the hill and happily, my nightmare of seeing one of the twins careering down the mountain was averted. Relieved and exhausted we returned to our lodgings and got drunk, which was the least we deserved.

#Snap Hot Twitter Topics This Month!

#FaceEquality

Friday 26th May 2017 was the UK’s first Face Equality Day. There were news reports, activities nationwide, and ways for everyone to get involved to show their support on Face Equality Day.

This was the first time we’d had a Face Equality Day in the UK, and Changing Faces created the day to increase awareness of Face Equality, the campaign to ensure that everyone is treated fairly and equally whatever the appearance of their face or body.

Janet's Big Walk!

This June, Snap's Janet will be walking 10,000 steps a day throughout the month to help beat cancer sooner.

Breast Cancer

With almost 140 women diagnosed every day, breast cancer is the most common cancer in the UK. Although rarer, around 350 men are also diagnosed with breast cancer every year. The good news is more than two-thirds of women now survive 20 years or more.

BABICM, CMSUK & VRA Together Conference

We were delighted to attend and exhibit at the joint BABICM, CMSUK & VRA Together Conference on the 11th and 12th May - we heard some fascinating talks and met some fab new people - as well as catching up with some very familiar ones!

Here's a few of those lovely people who agreed to be 'snapped by Snap!'

PS - you can see more about Christine Bunting's amazing work with Cerebra here. Looking forward to hearing about her next daring feat to raise awareness and funds for the great charity which we hear may be Wing Walking...

Have something to share?

If you have a favourite video clip, app, website or book, why not send us the details so we can share with everyone through Snap News. We would also love to hear about new technology and equipment, activities and resources that you particularly like.